Break Tank Sizing for Fire Sprinkler and Standpipe Systems
Type: On-Demand
Duration: 90 min
Instructor: Travis Mack
*Professional Training at No Cost
This webinar provides fire protection professionals and system designers with a step-by-step methodology for sizing break tanks and evaluating fire system hydraulics. It moves from core engineering principles to real-world calculations, analyzing the physical and mathematical relationships between city water supplies, piping friction, pump capacities, and tank refill rates. Attendees will learn how to:
- Identify the multiple purposes of a break tank, including cross-connection prevention and water storage optimization.
- Evaluate water supply capabilities using flow test data.
- Model the hydraulic piping network between the supply and the break tank, including elevation losses/gains and automatic refill (altitude) valve friction.
- Apply four (4) critical design metrics to size break tanks accurately based on total system demand, fire pump ratings, and refill rates.
- Execute back-calculations to resize tanks when available city refill rates are hydraulically inadequate.
- Apply specialized regulatory criteria for backflow-only break tanks under 30 minutes of duration.
